Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Remote Retrieval System For Pagers
Field of the Invention
This invention relates to wireless communications systems, and more
particularly to paging systems.
Background of the Invention
Radio paging technology has advanced from the simple tone-only pager
to the tone and voice pager, and most recently, to the numeric and
alphanumeric
display pagers. In a typical paging system that provides numeric and/or
alphanumeric display paging, a central transmitter or paging terminal is used
to
generate the pages which are transmitted via a radio link to a number of
paging
receivers. The pages consist of a unique digitally encoded address of the
particular
pager to which each page is targeted, immediately followed by a corresponding
digitally encoded numeric or alphanumeric page message which is intended for
display on the target pager.
Typically, the numeric or alphanumeric page message is stored in a
memory within the paging receiver for later recall and display by the pager
user. In
order for the pager subscriber or user to be able to retrieve the pages or
messages
sent to the pager, however, the user must carry the pager within tactile
proximity to
his or herself. That is, if the user is without the pager, then the user will
be unable to
operate the pager, and therefore unable to retrieve any of the messages
received by
the pager. As a result, there is a need to allow a pager user to operate the
pager from
a remote location, without having to carry any additional hardware, so that
pages
received by the pager can be accessed therefrom.
Summary of the Invention
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a method for remotely
controlling the operation of a pager in a paging system so that any messages
sent to
the pager can be retrieved from a remote location. To attain this, the present
invention provides a system and method wherein a pager user can send keypad
entries (e.g. pre-programmed commands) from a remote terminal to the pager so
that
the remote user can enter into a wireless interactive dialogue with the pager
to
control the operation of the pager, retrieve pages and voice messages
therefrom,
and/or perform any other pager operation from the remote location. Thus,
eliminating the need for the pager user to be in tactile proximity of the
pager when
retrieving messages.
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In one illustrative embodiment, the remote user dials the number of the
individual pager from a terminal at a remote location, and sends a pre-
programmed
command sequence to iniitiate wireless dialogue with the pager. Then, the
remote user
sends other given pre-programmed command sequences to allow the user to
remotely
operate the pager, selectively retrieve messages stored by the pager,
selectively delete
messages stored by the p;~ger, and. terminate the remote operation session,
wherein the
pager uses digital voice encoding techniques to provide verbal feedback to the
remote
user.
In another illustrative embodiment, a pager having a respond feature is pre-
programmed such that the remote user can send a given respond command from the
remote location, thus instructing t:he pager to send an acknowledgement to the
paging
system indicating that a given page was received. In yet another illustrative
embodiment, the remote user can dial into the telephone network or paging
network
database to retrieve messages sent: to the pager. In any such embodiment, the
present
invention overcomes the limitations of the prior art.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention there is provided in a
pager configured to communicate with a pager network, a method for remotely
retrieving a message, the method comprising the steps of: the pager receiving
a first
command from the pager network; the pager converting the message into a voice
signal responsive to receiving the first command; and the pager transmitting
the voice
signal to the pager network.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention there is provided a
pager configured to operate in a wireless pager network, the pager comprising:
a
receiver configured to receive a message from the pager network; a voice
synthesizer
configured to convert the message. into a voice signal; and a transmitter
configured to
transmit the voice signal ~to the pa;;er network
In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention there is
provided in a pager, a method comprising the steps of: the pager receiving a
message
from a pager network; the; pager converting the message into a voice signal;
and the
pager transmitting the voice signal to the pager network.
These and other ff;atures o:f the invention are described in more detail in
the
following detailed description of the embodiments of the invention when taken
with
the drawings. The scope of the invention, however, is limited only by the
claims
appended hereto.
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Brief Description of the Drawings
FIG. 1 is a flow chart process diagram showing one illustrative embodiment of
a method for remote control of a pager according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of one illustrative embodiment of a system for
remotely controlling a pager to remotely retrieve messages therefrom,
according to
the present invention.
Detailed Description of hllustrative Embodiments of the Invention
Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a flow chart diagram of one
illustrative embodiment of a method for remote control of a pager according to
the
present invention, herein<~fter referred to a process 10. As shown, at step 1
l, process
10 first checks the incoming page to determine whether it is a request for
remote
control or a normal page containing a message for the pager user. If the
incoming
page is a normal page, than, at step 12, the pager handles the page as such.
If,
however, the page contains a request for remote control, then, at step 13, the
pager
activates its transmission circuitry, and sends a "Ready-to-Receive"
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acknowledgment", at step 14, to the pager network which forwards the
acknowledgment to the remote terminal requesting the remote control.
The pager then, at step 15, waits a given duration for a command from
the remote terminal. Once a command is received, at step 16, the pager
determines
whether the command requires the pager to respond. If no response is required,
then
the pager processes the command, at step 17, and waits for the next command,
at
step 15. If, however, a pager response is required, then, at step 18, the
pager
activates voice synthesis circuitry and transmits a response to the pager
network
which sends the response to the appropriate party (e.g. the remote terminal).
The pager then determines, at step 19, whether the network sent an
acknowledgment that the transmitted response was received. If the pager
determines
that an acknowledgment was sent, then the pager waits for another command at
step
15. If, however, an acknowledgment was not sent to the pager, then the pager
resends the data at step 20. In any event, once an end remote session command
is
received, the pager returns to normal operation, at step 11.
As described above, process 10 enables the use of a predetermined
command set (e.g. a DTMF command set) to allow a pager user to remotely access
their pager through a public switched telephone network (PSTN). As a result,
the
user can make keypad entries from a remote terminal (e.g. a telephone) to
access the
pager to retrieve pages, voice messages, and/or perform other pager functions
from a
remote location. In essence, process 10 enables the pager user to enter into a
wireless dialogue with the pager, wherein the pager can use digital voice
encoding
techniques to provide verbal feedback to the remote user.
In one illustrative embodiment, process 10 may enable a pager user to
dial the pager from a remote location, using a terminal on a PSTN. The
terminal
may comprise a landline telephone, cellular phone, laptop computer, special
mobile
radio, or any other terminal having access to the PSTN, wherein the PSTN is
advantageously connected to the paging network in which the pager
communicates.
One illustrative embodiment of a system providing the remote terminal
operation of
a pager is shown in FIG. 2, hereinafter referred to as system 40.
As shown, system 40 has a remote terminal or telephone 41 connected
to a PSTN 42 which, in turn, is electrically communicable with cellular
network 43
and page network 44 which communicates with pager 45. In operation, a user of
pager 45 can use telephone 41 to gain remote control over pager 45 through
PSTN
42 and page network 44, and thus operate the pager according to the method of
the
present' invention (e.g. process 10, described above).
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In normal paging operation, a user dials a phone number associated with
the paging device, and the paging network attempts to send the user message to
the
paging device via radio communications. Typically, the paging message
comprises a
numeric, alphanumeric, or voice message. In many pagers, such messages are
stored
in non-volatile memory which can be easily accessed by the user when in
tactile
proximity of the paging device. For example, a user may retrieve a stored
message
by pushing buttons mounted on the outer surface of the pager. Such
conventional
operation is well known in the art.
In the present invention, however, such pages stored in the paging
device can be accessed even when the user is not within tactile proximity of
the
pager. That is, the stored messages can be accessed without the need to
physically
press buttons mounted on the pager itself. Instead, the method and system
according
to the present invention, provide the means for a user to retrieve the stored
messages
from a remote location.
In an illustrative embodiment, the user can dial the number of the paging
device on the terminal keypad followed by a pre-determined keypad sequence,
where
all keypad entries are communicated to the paging device as DTMF signals
modulated on the RF signal used by the paging network. The modulated RF
signals
are received by the paging device and processed in normal fashion. But, once
the
pager recognizes that a DTMF signal, requesting remote access or control of
the
pager, is received, the pager enters a remote control session. In the remote
control
session, the remote user can control the operation of the pager from a remote
location. The pager then locates the nearest pager network receiver and
transmits
back a response signal acknowledging that the pager is ready to receive user
commands. In a typical embodiment, the access of the remote control over the
pager
may be password protected. In such an embodiment, the pager or the paging
network may request a password from the remote user before remote access is
enabled. The user would then enter the password sequence, via the terminal
keypad,
to gain access to remote operation of the paging device.
Following the initial access sequence, the user may enter commands, via
a remote terminal keypad, to remotely control the operation of the pager as if
the
pager was in tactile proximity of the user. One user operation is the
retrieval of
messages sent to and retrieved by the paging device. Once a remote user enters
a
command instructing the pager to retrieve selected messages, the pager will
retrieve
the messages from non-volatile memory and transmit the messages, via an RF
transmitter and modulated upon an RF carrier, to the paging network which
relays
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the message to the remote user.
When retrieving the messages, the pager controller will activate a voice
synthesizer to convert a stored message (numeric, alphanumeric, or voice
message)
into a voice signal, modulated upon the RF carrier, so that the message can be
heard
by the remote user. In one illustrative embodiment, the paging network has
associated RF receiving equipment to downconvert, filter, and demodulate the
received RF signal so that the transmitted voice signal can be distributed by
the
interconnected PSTN. At the end of a typical remote operation session, the
user will
enter a command sequence to terminate the remote session. Or, alternatively,
the
paging device can time-out after a predetermined period, if no communication
is
received from the paging network, thus ending the remote session.
In another illustrative embodiment, the user may leave the paging device
a "reach me" number via the keypad at the remote terminal, wherein the pager
uses
the "reach me" number to call back the remote user, via the paging network and
the
PSTN, to send the stored messages to the user.
In another illustrative embodiment, the paging network may comprise a
message database that stores messages intended for or actually sent to the
paging
device. This would be useful in obtaining messages that may not have been sent
due
to the pager being out-of range, or the pager being turned off. In such a
paging
system, the remote user dials into the paging network via the PSTN, similar to
that
described above. The paging network, responding to remote terminal keypad
entries
initiated by the user, retrieves the messages stored in the database, and
transmits the
messages to the user with the corresponding conversion to a voice signal
usable by
the PSTN.
In any such alternate embodiment, the pager may have a feature that
enables the remote user to locate the pager when misplaced. For example, the
remote user may enter a command instructing the pager to continually beep for
a
given duration. This would provide the remote user a means for locating the
misplaced pager. In addition, the pager may be preprogrammed to accept
commands
from the remote user to enable the remote user to download information to the
pager
during the remote session.
There are many other embodiments for providing the remote control of a
pager and the remote retrieval of messages sent to the pager, according to the
present
inventive method and system described herein. As a result, the above
description is
intended to only provide exemplary embodiments of the many methods and systems
for implementing the present invention. References to specific examples and
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embodiments in the description should not be construed to limit the present
invention in any manner, and is merely provided for the purpose of describing
the
general principles of the present invention. It will be apparent to one of
ordinary
skill in the art that the present invention may be practiced through other
embodiments.
